Insulating Matters

I told R that I had a goal of getting all the fiberglass insulation installed on the second floor by the end of this month, and it appears that for the first time in my challenged-but-trying life I might actually finish ahead of schedule. Can it possibly be true? Actually, now that I just hexed myself, it may never happen.

In all honesty, work has resumed in earnest on the barn, and there is light at the end of the tunnel, even if it's just a speck of light. I have been diligently installing the fiberglass with the goal of getting it done and putting in the rigid board. Stapling fiberglass is a bear of a job, especially when you're working with cathedral-like ceilings, but like many things in life, you just chip away at the stone. It doesn't help that you have to wear protective clothes and facial protection, which makes it uncomfortable, but at least it's not scorching hot outside. I did actually run out of insulation and had to get more, which I took as a good sign.

I think a day or two more of stapling and it will be done, at least on the second floor. There is an issue with working on parts of the dormers which I wanted to address to my Mentor, but he's not around and not slated to be here until the end of the month, so I may need to take a leap of faith and just figure out a solution. That's part of real-man training, isn't it?

Another positive note is that I had purchased a few rolls of un-faced fiberglass to put in the attic, but I changed my plan for up there, as well. Under normal circumstances I could have just returned them to Home Depot, but when is it ever a normal circumstance? I had them for over two years and at some point the statute of limitations must apply. I was faced with having to deal with all this insulation, though in retrospect I'm sure I could have found someone on the town listserve who would have snatched them up. People love free stuff, I know I do.

Well, it turns out that even though the stuff doesn't have facing, I can still use it on vertical walls. At least that's what a few contractors have told me. They call it friction grabbing or something like that, and all I need to do is install it and then apply a vapor barrier, whatever that is.

I have to say, I'm relieved that I can find a good use for this stuff because not only is it not going to waste, but I can save money by not having to pay for new rolls for the downstairs area. I love when that happens. There might be width issues but I've come this far and can't stop now. I'll find a way to make it work. Isn't that what any real man would do?

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Knauf Insulation for the pic.